Elite XI Managers React: Early Thoughts on 2025/26 Fantasy Premier League Fixtures

With the Premier League fixtures for the 2025/26 season now released, the planning phase for Fantasy Premier League managers begins in earnest.

To get early insight into how the best FPL minds are reacting, we spoke to three of our Elite XI Team Reveal managers—James Cooper, Walter Randazzo, and Corey Baker—who boast a combined 19 top 10k finishes.

From analysing premium captaincy rotations to spotting early trap teams, here’s what they had to say…

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🔍 What’s the First Thing You Look for When the FPL Fixtures Drop?

James Cooper was quick to highlight the importance of fixture blocks for captaincy planning:

“It sounds reductive to say ‘good runs’ but of course it’s teams with 4–6 largely favourable fixtures to kick things off,” he said. “That extends all the way from budget options who might be able to offer a £4.5m filler defender, up to the very top premiums in the game.”

He also mentioned the importance of staggering premium picks:

“No reason to have two mega premiums if their good fixtures are on the same gameweeks—you can only captain one of them.”

Walter Randazzo takes a top-down approach:

“I usually focus on the biggest teams first, i.e. the likely title contenders, to know who are the big guns to get from the start, because that will dictate how to build the rest of the team.”

Corey Baker echoed that sentiment, adding that it’s all about early structure:

“I try and get a semblance of which teams (big teams especially) have an appealing run at the beginning. This gives me a mindset of what to look for when pricing is released.”

Here are the top 10 teams for attacking fixture difficulty in Gameweeks 1 to 5, based on our Fixture Planner — now available in the Preseason Pack.

✅ Which Teams Stood Out as Having a Strong Start?

Interestingly, there wasn’t total consensus. James Cooper was bullish about the balance across the league:

“Genuinely, no. I don’t think anyone has a clearly great early run of games. And I think that’s fantastic—I’m delighted. It means there will hopefully not be a strong template out there.”

That said, Corey and Walter did highlight some standout names.

Corey said:

“Chelsea (by far best fixtures among better teams), Spurs, Everton, Sunderland (although unlikely you actually want any Sunderland players).”

Chelsea’s early schedule includes Crystal Palace (H), West Ham (A), Fulham (H) Brentford (A), and Man United (A) in the first five—certainly promising.

Walter also picked out Chelsea and Villa:

“Chelsea and Villa look decent at first glance. Liverpool and Arsenal a bit mixed, Man City probably better. Forest don't look bad either.”

Villa, who open with Newcastle (H), then face Brentford (A), Crystal Palace (H), Everton (A) and Sunderland (A), may offer value if their assets are priced right.

❌ Any Teams You’re Already Avoidingin FPL?

There was one clear target here: Arsenal.

James explained his hesitation:

“I was all set to talk myself into investing heavily in Arsenal, but that is not the kindest opening spell. Man United away… then it’s Liverpool and Man City, sandwiching a predictably frustrating game trying to unpick Forest’s defence. All looks a bit tricky to me.”

Arsenal’s first five:

• GW1: Man United (A)
  
• GW2: Leeds (H)
  
• GW3: Liverpool (A)
  
• GW4: Nottingham Forest (H)
  
• GW5: Man City (H)
  

Corey agreed:

“Avoid: Arsenal (Leeds at home in Gameweek 2 great, everything else, not so much). Brighton too.”

Walter had a quick and clear answer:

“Not sure. Oh yeah, of one I’m sure—Man United.”

United’s run is also tough, with games against Arsenal (H), Fulham (A), Burnley (H), Man City (A) and Chelsea (H) in their first five.

🧠 What It All Means for Your FPL Draft Plans

With no single team standing out across the board, early FPL planning for 2025/26 could offer a rare chance to gain an edge. Here are some initial takeaways from the Elite X: Team Reveal managers:

• Chelsea are the early front-runners for favourable fixtures.
  
• Arsenal and Man United may be teams to avoid—at least to begin with.
  
• Premium captaincy planning remains vital, especially if you’re considering two or more heavy hitters.
  

The Rotation Planner in our Preseason Pack highlights a favourable fixture rotation between Man City and Newcastle over the first five Gameweeks.

Could this lead to a trend of pairing Haaland and Isak for captaincy — and starting without Salah in Gameweek 1?

We’ll have to wait and see, especially with FPL yet to release player prices. If you’re wondering when the game might launch, we explored the predicted date in a recent article.

The Elite XI: Team Reveal managers share over 80 Top 10k finishes between them.

Follow their every move and learn the strategies behind their success. Click here to get started!